Brisbane coach Leigh Matthews says the AFL needs to change its rules to punish players who deliberately rush behinds, saying a one-point penalty did not go far enough.
Matthews did not criticise Richmond’s Joel Bowden for rushing a behind as part of time-wasting tactics late in the Tigers’ win over Essendon, but said the AFL’s rules were to blame for the situation.
The coach denied Bowden actions were not in the “spirit of the game”.
“The spirit of the game’s rubbish,” Matthews told reporters yesterday. “It’s completely within the spirit of the game because it’s within the rules of the game.
“I think that Joel Bowden should be applauded for using the rules to Richmond’s advantage. That’s what sport’s all about. It’s up to the rule makers to put the rules in there to make the game the way they want it to be.”
Matthews called for rushed behinds to either cost a team three points instead of one, or result in a bounce at the top of the goal square to prevent the offending team from keeping the ball.
“I’m one of the people who’s been on the record over and over again – it is wrong that you can give the opposition a point and get the ball back. It’s wrong. To me that’s not enough penalty,” Matthews said.
“No one’s really got any concern at all about conceding a behind at any point in the game, let alone trying to save a game. The one point doesn’t mean a whole lot, and you get the ball back.
“Either you do what they do in the pre-season, you concede three points for a deliberate (rushed behind) or you don’t get the ball back, you bounce the ball in the goal front. End of problem.”
